“We can learn so much by observing the way our pets rejoice in life’s simplest moments. For a dog, every morning is Christmas morning. Every walk is the best walk; every meal is the best meal. Take time every day to celebrate the many gifts that are hidden in the ordinary events of your life.” – Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer
I’ve been dogsitting Frankie’s friends here a lot in the last couple of months while their family sold their house and bought a new one. They’ve been putting in new floors and painting rooms the new house. Not the best time to have dogs underfoot. They do have a fenced backyard but it needs some repairs. It might keep big dog Waylon in, but not little dog Reba. Waylon is an English mastiff, and Reba an interesting lab/basset hound mix. She has the hound hunting nose. The lab chewing up stuff desire. Strong see me jump on anything muscles and the very sweet combined nature of the basset hound and the lab. She has short basset legs and a long body. Chipmunks beware and squirrels better find a tree. She’s been walking with Frankie and me, but I keep her on a leash for much of the walk since I worry about her bumping into a coyote. I’ve seen a few in the distance when I’ve been walking this year and I see their scat everywhere. So I like Reba being in sight instead of chasing off after Frankie. I figure Frankie could outrun a coyote, but I’d just as soon we didn’t test that out either. So far the coyotes have run the other way when they spot me.
Waylon doesn’t get to go on the long walks. I figure he would get over in the field and think this is enough walking and sit down. So he gets to go on short walks. He’s a sweet-natured dog too if a little hard-headed at times. When I call him, he’ll look at me and I can see him thinking that if he didn’t want to come, I wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. But being a sweet dog, he sighs and does what I say. Maybe he remembers who’s been feeding him. He lumbers along like a big lion. He wore a lion ruff last Halloween and went trick or treating with my granddaughter who dressed up as Dorothy. They were a hit. But he can run. If he spots a rabbit. He does shed and shed and shed some more. Also, his very big mouth collects slobber that at times becomes what one Saint Bernard owner accurately dubbed “slingers.”
For some odd reason, my husband has a problem with slingers. LOL. When I first kept these dogs, Oscar was still living. He wasn’t a big fan of other dogs. He preferred having me and the house all to himself. But Frankie has an opposite nature. He loves having dog buddies. Waylon pretty much ignores Frankie except if he happens to be lying in Waylon’s preferred spot or in the hallway in the way of Waylon getting to his preferred spot. Then he lets out a big woof that Frankie ignores. But Reba and Frankie have a great time together, chasing those chipmunks, digging for moles, checking out all the mysterious scent trails in the fields, barking at coyotes from the safety of the backyard fence.
I can thank Frankie for making sure I get in my steps every day and Reba and Waylon up the count. But they are great dogs even if they do have a way of filling up my dog room and my office. Dogs have a way of filling up your heart too. They are just so much fun. They like to hear you talk. They get excited over a walk or a doggie treat. They show you what enthusiasm looks like and they look at you with those eyes that tell you they think you are the best friend ever.
“Humankind is drawn to dogs because they are so like ourselves — bumbling, affectionate, confused, easily disappointed, eager to be amused, grateful for kindness and the least attention.” Pam Brown
INNER STRENGTH
If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can conquer tension without medical help….
Then you are probably the family dog!!!
Have you ever had a dog that thought you were the best thing ever? What was his or her name?
As always, thanks for reading.
Comments 8
What a wonderful article and so true ! Dogs are very special.I have had several over the years , and love the two that I have now . My most special friend and heartfelt companion was LUCKY. ” He came into our life quickly and unexpectedly and left us the same way . He was the BEST dog….he was all things good….loyal, wise, happy, jolly , jaunty and all knowing. He enjoyed life and was always ready to join in the fun. He was a star wherever he went, loved by all who knew him. We miss you….our loyal pet and best friend ” I wrote this tribute for him and read it at his funeral… he left us at age 10 from a sudden health problem. He was a beautiful black lab mix ….so special.
Author
I’m glad you enjoyed reading the post, Nancy. I had one of those best dogs with Oscar who didn’t live nearly as long as I wanted when cancer took him at seven. Frankie, my dog now, is a sweetheart, but no Oscar. Before Oscar got sick, I used that idea in my Rosey Corner book, Love Comes Home, with Graham continually saying his new dog was “no Poe.” Poe was his dog in the first books.
That’s a lovely tribute to Lucky. My Oscar was a black lab mix too. I wrote a tributes to him here after he died. Here’s the link if you want to read it. https://www.annhgabhart.com/2017/10/15/my-very-good-dog-oscar/. He was a very good dog.
As a child I had a black cocker spaniel. His name was Major. We went for lots of long walks together in the woods. He was my best friend. Then in more recent years I have had 2 white dogs named Honey. They were both adopted dogs. The first one I traded 2 birds (parakeets) for and we we were happy together for a long time. Then she died and I waited a whole long week before getting another from the Humane Society. Her name was also Honey. (Both dogs had names before I got them). So she was Honey 2, or Honey, too, or Honey-dog. She was my companion for many years. Currently I am dogless, but probably best for now, as I can no longer take a dog on long walks.
Author
That’s sort of neat that you got two dogs from a shelter and both were named Honey. I’m glad you had them all for a long time. I still feel sad that I had to lose Oscar to bone cancer when I hoped he’d live several more years.
When I was a kid, I fell in love with a black cockerspaniel that somebody dropped on our road. My aunt took him in and we named him Inky. I’ll have to write a post about that sweet and sad story sometime. But I did love that dog.
Ohhh, this might be a long reply! I do love dogs! And I’ve been blessed with dogs that have lived long lives. Cookie, who was a little over 16 when she died of cancer, was my special companion. I answered a “free puppy” ad in the local paper. She was one of a dozen or more and looked like a chocolate chip cookie. She was a mix of yellow retriever/cocker spaniel/border collie. I got her for my son, Josh, who was 10 months at the time. But she was always my dog, and the boys were her pups. A few years later, our beagle had a huge litter of puppies the day before my youngest son Corey’s 2nd birthday. We ended up bottle feeding them for several weeks. Most found new homes as soon as they were weaned. But when they were 9 weeks old, one sniffed her way into the path of a tractor cutting hay. The sickle mower flipped her end over end, cutting off one long ear, a couple of toes and a bit of her tail. Surprisingly she survived and became a cherished, very spoiled little dog. Of course her name was Lucky Dog. As she and Corey grew older, they were inseparable. It wasn’t unusual for me to find them camped out together in the back yard during the summer. Since Lucky didn’t like being inside, Corey would sneak out and join her outside. Good ole Lucky lived until Corey geaduated high school. She’s buried on the farm, wrapped in the blanket they shared all their lives. Then there was Sarge. He was a beautiful collie/husky mix that wandered onto our farm one Thanksgiving weekend the fall before Lucky arrived. We never knew where he came from…no one ever claimed him. Our veterinarian suspected he was about 12 years old. He had a limp from a hip replacement before he showed up in our barn that foggy morning. We had no intention of keeping him, as we already had Cookie and a pair of beagles. But a few days later, Corey toddled up to a stray dog (it seemed like our farm was a dumping ground for unwanted pets sometimes). The stray, a bulldog mix, jumped on Corey, snarling…with teeth bared. I was only a couple of steps away, but Sarge (he didn’t have a name until that day), came out of the barn like a bullet, rolling the stray all over the barnyard. Corey didn’t have a scratch on him. After running the stray off, Sarge came back to us and lifted his paw, ready to shake, as if to say “Howdy do!” The kids looked at me and said, “I guess we’re keeping him now, right?” We had Sarge another 10 years. I’ve always thought that God sent Sarge to us to protect Corey that day.
Now I have my Ollie, the goofy “Barney Fife” of our neighborhood. He’s loved and spoiled by everyone in our small lake community. At the moment, he’s sulking after an impromptu, but necessary Sunday night bath. Every few weeks he just can’t seem to remember that rolling in geese skat is a no-no. I hope he blesses my life as long as Cookie, Sarge and Lucky did!
Sorry about the lengthy post Ann. But you did ask for favorite dog stories! 😉
Author
Loved reading about your dog buddies through the year. Sounds as though you’ve had some special furry companions through the years and your kids were fortunate to get to grow up with dogs around. At least, that’s the way I feel. I think dogs add so much to a family’s life, but then I’ve always been a dog lover.
I like the story about Sarge. He was well named. That was what I named the dog in These Healing Hills. He was a dog that took care of problems too. 🙂 Your Ollie sounds like a treasure and fun for the whole neighborhood.
We had a special dog when I was a kid. My brother and I named her Tinker Bell. Are you picturing a sweet little dog? Don’t. Tinker Bell was a Saint Bernard puppy who grew and grew. She would stand with her paws on my father’s shoulders so that she could lick his face. She tried that with me, but since she was taller than I was I always ended up on the ground – sometimes in a mud puddle. I sure did grumble about that, but cried and cried when my parents gave her away. We just couldn’t afford to feed her any more. She was really big but oh so sweet and loving.
Author
Saint Bernard dogs are very sweet dogs, Nancy. They are sort of like the mastiff I’m keeping right now. The neighbors had a St Bernard that would go walking with me. I wrote a post about that big girl, Roxie. Here’s the link if you’re interested in reading about my big St Bernard friend. https://www.annhgabhart.com/2014/11/10/remembering-roxie-my-walking-buddy/
Tinker Bell is an interesting name for a dog like that. I know you missed her when your parents had to find her a new home.